Edward Brook Stevens, 1922 - 2013

Stevens, Edward Brooks, aged 91, of North Andover, Massachusetts, passed away on Saturday, May 11, 2013. Mr. Stevens was born in Lowell in 1922, the eldest son of the late Ames Stevens and the late Phyllis Brooks Stevens. He was educated at the Groton School (class of 1940) and Harvard University (class of 1944), and served in the 20th Armored Division of the U.S. Army in the Second World War. Before leaving for France in 1944, he was married to the former Ann C. Johnson of Norwich, Conn. Upon his return to the U.S., the couple settled in Tewksbury, Massachusetts, and in 1947, Mr. Stevens began working for the family business, Ames Textile Corporation. Over the years, Mr. Stevens worked his way through the business to become its president and chairman of the board, and he and his wife became the parents of four children. After a fire destroyed their home in 1963, the family moved to Andover, where they remained until 1987, when Mr. and Mrs. Stevens settled into a family home in North Andover.

During a long and distinguished career in the textile industry, Mr. Stevens developed the business in the U.S. and expanded it to Europe. He made many friends along the way, and wrote a memoir of his career that he called, The Time of My Life. He was also a director of the State Street Bank and a trustee of the Lahey Clinic. Mr. Stevens was a philanthropist and served on many non-profit boards, including the Boys and Girls Club of Lowell, the United Way of the Merrimack Valley, and Ironstone Farm’s Challenge Unlimited program for disabled children and adults. As chairman of the board of the American Textile History Museum, he led a successful campaign to move the museum to a large space in a former mill building in Lowell and to bring it to national prominence. He also volunteered in the Executive Service Corps of New England, helping a wide variety of non-profit agencies raise funds for service programs and working with them to develop their boards and business plans.

A lifelong interest in travel and history carried him to six of the seven continents. He was also an avid skier, golfer, tennis player, and dancer. His unflagging enthusiasm and zest for life earned him the affection of his friends and the love of his large family. He was close to his brothers, George Stevens and the late Ames Stevens, Jr. and to his sister, Priscilla Stevens Rutherford, to their spouses, and to many nieces and nephews. He is survived by his devoted wife of 69 years, Ann Johnson Stevens, his beloved children Peter Brooks Stevens of Rico, Colorado, Lynn Stevens Lenhart of Chappaqua, N.Y. and her husband, the Rev. J. Thomas Lenhart, Jonathan Ames Stevens of Carlisle, Mass. and his wife, Priscilla Stone Stevens, and Mother Seraphima (Jane Adams Stevens), of Ouzinkie, Alaska. He is also survived by five much-loved grandchildren: Amanda B. Lenhart and her husband Scott B. Smallwood, James E. Lenhart and his wife Dipti K. Lenhart, Katherine S. Getchell and her husband Greg J. Getchell, Abigail A. Lenhart and her husband Jonah I. Zwemer, and Clifford S. Stevens and his wife, Tiffany D. Stevens. His five great grandchildren, who were his delight, are Sophia Getchell, Arun Lenhart, Oliver Zwemer, Natalie Getchell, and Katherine Smallwood.

His burial will be a private service. At a later date, to be announced, a memorial service to honor his life will be held in Andover. To sign the family guest book, please visit www.contefuneralhomes.com.

Arrangements have been entrusted to the Conte Funeral Home, 17 Third Street, North Andover.